Netanyahu on Iran’s nuclear program adressed to the 67th United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. Headquarters in New York, September 27, 2012

On Tuesday Iran launched several ballistic missiles in different parts of the country as part of military exercises in which senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps participated. Two of these missiles, released a day later, were marked with the words “Israel should be wiped off the Earth” in Hebrew. Among the launched missiles, the Qadr -F has a range of 2000 km, while the Qadr -H has up to 1700km.

Despite the test did not violate the foundations of the nuclear agreement, it was doomed from Washington for having indications that the tests could undermine the 2231 Resolution of the Security Council from 2015 which prohibits Iran to work with ballistic missiles designed to be able to carry nuclear warheads. Meanwhile, the Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister, Javad Zarif, states that these missiles do not have such capabilities and reiterates Iran’s right to conduct missile tests and to strengthen its defensive capabilities. It is not the first time that Iran launches ballistic missiles since the signing of the nuclear agreement in July 2015: in October of the same year, the country fired an Emad long-range missile that was condemned by the UN precisely because of their capability of carrying nuclear weapons, to which the Iranian authorities responded by maintaining that it was a conventional missile.

With these tests, Iran intends to emphasize its deterrent power. The country, which has been under sanctions since 2006, claims to be completely independent in terms of missile production and ensures to have the largest arsenal of missiles in the region. These tests are a sign that Iran has some red lines that will maintain regardless of the nuclear agreement or the political opening of the last elections. Iran considers these releases as a tool of deterrence and self-defense, something that is nonnegotiable. On the other part, Netanyahu echoed that the nuclear deal was a mistake that is allowing the country to arm itself and demands sanctions to the country for its threats and of UN resolutions violations.